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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3434 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1695
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Brandy Fluker-Reid
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act promoting diversion of juveniles to community supervision and services.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Brandy Fluker-Reid12th Suffolk1/17/2025Erika Uyterhoeven27th Middlesex2/6/2025Russell E. Holmes6th Suffolk3/11/2025 1 of 4
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3434 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1695
By Representative Fluker-Reid of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1695) of
Brandy Fluker-Reid, Erika Uyterhoeven and Russell E. Holmes relative to promoting diversion
of juveniles to community supervision and services. The Judiciary.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1495 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act promoting diversion of juveniles to community supervision and services.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 54A of chapter 119 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 16, after the word “assessment” the
3following sentence:-
4 Any referral to the juvenile court for a child requiring assistance as defined in section
5twenty-one, in accordance with the provisions of this section and of sections thirty-nine F to
6thirty-nine I, inclusive, shall not disqualify said child from diversion.
7 SECTION 2. Said section 54A of chapter 119 of the General Laws is hereby further
8amended by inserting, in line 38, after the word “proceedings” the following words:-
9 “, after consultation with legal counsel,” 2 of 4
10 SECTION 3. Said section 54A of chapter 119 of the General Laws is hereby further
11amended by striking out, in line 45, the words “(iv) any statement made by the child or the
12child’s family during the course of assessment” and inserting in place thereof the following
13words:-
14 (iv) any statement made by the child or the child’s family during the course of
15assessment; and (v) information obtained during the course of the assessment.
16 SECTION 4. Subsection (d) of said section 54A of chapter 119 of the General Laws is
17hereby amended by inserting after the last sentence the sentence:- “A case diverted by a district
18attorney shall not be considered an issuance of a criminal complaint for the purposes of section
1937H½ of chapter 71.”
20 SECTION 5. Said section 54A of chapter 119 of the General Laws is hereby further
21amended by striking out, in line 87, the word “may” and inserting in place thereof the word:-
22“shall”
23 SECTION 6. Said section 54A of chapter 119 of the General Laws is hereby further
24amended by inserting after the words “any records of the”, in line 101, the following words:-
25 “assessment and the”
26 SECTION 7. Said Section 54A of chapter 119 of the General Laws is hereby further
27amended by striking subsection (g) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
28 (g) (1) A child otherwise eligible for diversion pursuant to this section shall not be
29eligible for diversion:
30 (i) if the child is indicted as a youthful offender; 3 of 4
31 (ii) if the child is charged with an offense that cannot be continued without a finding or
32placed on file;
33 (iii) unless there is concurrent district court jurisdiction for such offense, if the child is
34charged with an offense for which a penalty of incarceration greater than five years may be
35imposed; or
36 (iv) if the child is charged with an offense listed under the second sentence of section 70C
37of chapter 277; provided however, that a child shall be eligible for diversion if the child is
38charged with an offense under:
39 (A) paragraph (a) of subdivision (2) of section 24 of chapter 90;
40 (B) subsection (a) of section 13A of chapter 265;
41 (C) the first paragraph of section 13D of chapter 265;
42 (D) subsection (a) of section13M, subsection of chapter 265
43 (E) (b) of section 15A of chapter 265
44 (F) subsection (b) of section 15B of chapter 265;
45 (G) section13A of chapter 268; or
46 (H) Section 13C of said chapter 268.
47 Diversion of juvenile court charges under this chapter shall not preclude a subsequent
48indictment on the same charges in superior court. 4 of 4
49 SECTION 7. Chapter 276 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
50section 100U, the following section:-
51 Section 100V. Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, after an arrest of a
52person under the age of criminal majority, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies shall
53not transmit fingerprints and any records related to the arrest or filing of a court case against the
54person to the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice for any offense that
55occurred before the age of criminal majority, except for purposes of requesting that the Federal
56Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice seal or expunge its records as required by
57section 100T of this chapter and section 36 of chapter 22C of the General laws.